Yes, with last week’s pre-emption, we have gone a whole 14 days without hearing about WCW Prime! How WILL I get my Disco Inferno fix from 6-months earlier when this program is not on TV? Does this push the already stale matches back an extra week, or will we still get that match between Eddie Guerrero and Todd Morton? And will we ever get the return of the Big Giant Ninja? THIS ... is WCW!

Because he is oblivious to anything happening outside of the Prime world – CHRIS CRUISE ignores the entire pay-per-view, opting instead to focus on the task at hand, Valentine’s Day. And DUSTY RHODES is beside himself, his main man, “Bubber” gets a TV Title shot against Johnny B Badd. Geez, hold on to your seats kids, that could be a main event anywhere else in the country. Oh, and here on Prime too.

LEX LUGER (with Jimmy Hart) vs. EDDIE JACKIE

Jimmy Hart escorts Luger to the ring; making me think this show was taped in either November or December in all likelyhood. I sure hope Sting doesn’t watch this show, he wouldn’t like that at all! Dusty, showing great restrain, waits less than 10 seconds to say “Snake In The Grass”. Luger misses a blind charge, and Eddie Jackie slams him, which has to be the highlight of his career. The loaded forearm changes that. Luger cheats to show us how evil he is (but don’t tell Sting!), and finishes with a superplex followed by the Rack at 4:12. *

Remember when you were young, and you’d see a commercial from your parents’ era, and you’d be all “Hot DAMN – what were they THINKING?” ... I’m 30 years old, imagine how old I feel right now just going back through this stuff.

COBRA vs. MIKE KHOREY

I feel like I’ve recapped this match before, but even if I haven’t, I have no desire to SEE it. Cruise relays the story of how disappointed Cobra was with his career, so he took a few months off in order to return a better jobber when he returned. Now, he’s the jobber who beats jobbers. That somehow changes into a talk about how Johnny B Badd had reservations as a wrestler. I guess this is akin to the announcers talking about Hulk Hogan over every match on Nitro. Cobra Clutch slam ends it at 2:20. DUD

A package is aired by Chris Cruise, that introduces all the best new wrestlers 1995 brought us. Dean Malenko, The Zodiac Man, Cobra, Craig Pittman, Scott Norton, The Texas Hangmen, American Males, VK Wallstreet, Eddie Guerrero, Disco Inferno, Mr. JL, Chris Benoit, and The Giant are all highlighted. I suppose I can let go that some of those guys had wrestled in WCW in years prior before returning, or even that people like the American Males had never left but were “new” in the sense of being a tag-team. But for the love of god, the freakin’ Zodiac HEADLINED their biggest pay-per-view of 1994! We may as well have included Ric Flair seeing as how he entered 1995 “retired”. Let’s just move on.

THE BLUE BLOODS vs. LEROY HOWARD and BART SAWYER

Dusty Rhodes: “Let me tell ya something, the Blue Bloods are right there with the Road Warriors, the Harlem Heats, the Sting and Lugers, the Barrio Brothers, all those guys right there”. So keep your chin up Lord Regal, someday you too might reach the glory of Ricky Barrio. Dusty starts fantasy booking; saying if he was in charge, Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton would be tag-team champions right now. That doesn’t even make any sense! Leroy Howard earns his pay by getting in his one offensive move. However, a Regal Stretch “uncles” him at 3:23. 1/2*

Dusty’s excitement for Luis Astea is outstanding: “LUIS! LUIS! DON’T GET HURT AMIGO!” Fans chant for Hogan, because that’s what the sign says to do. Todd Morton gets his head chopped in half by Meng. Shark starts shoving everyone, including Luis which just sends Dusty into hysterics. “HE JUST STANDING THERE! HE AIN’T MEAN!” Shark drops a big fat leg, and drops Quartermaine with a sidewalk slam. Back to Meng, and Astea tags in. “GET HIM LUIS! PROTECT YOURSELF! PUT YOUR HANDS UP IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE! GET UP AND TAG OUT! HE AIN’T LISTENIN! WAIT – THERE YOU GO LUIS, GET OUT OF THERE!” With that out of the way, Quartermaine goes back to taking his lumps from the Shark. Buck is kicked to the floor, and the Giant chokeslams him on the cement, right in front of the referee, to no bell. Sullivan finishes him with the double stomp “right in the belly welly” at 3:47. 1/2*

HAWK vs. DINO CASSANOVA

Dino makes the huge mistake of attacking Hawk before the bell, and winds up getting killed with a shoulderblock and legdrop. In the crowd, KENSUKE SASAKI and SONNY ONOO are watching; and Cruise mentions in Japan that Sasaki and Hawk were a popular tag-team when Animal was out with a long-term back injury. Hawk keeps eyeballing his ex-partner while destroying Cassanova. A flying shouldertackle gets the pin at 2:26. DUD

BIG BUBBA ROGERS vs. JOHNNY B BADD (with Kimberly, Frisbees, and Badd Blaster) (in the match of the week for the WCW World Television title)

Dusty and Cruise spend the first minute of the match arguing whether Bubba is 320 pounds or 319 pounds; and Cruise even seems to lose his cool at one point screaming “I KNOW THIS DRIVES YOU CRAZY”. The 5 viewers at home likely feel the same way. And since we’re paying close attention the match at hand, Cruise starts asking questions like “where do you think 6 and a half million went?” Bubba powerbombs Johnny, and tells Kimberly to kiss his ass. Johnny is slammed in the middle of the ring, and Bubba eyeballs Kimberly hungrily. Johnny escapes a headlock with a backdrop, and fires his punches until Bubba rolls out. 619 is threatened, and when Bubba ducks, Johnny flattens him with a slingshot splash. Bubba is rolled in, and this brings out VK WALLSTREET. Johnny knocks him out, and goes to finish Bubba with the Badd Mood, but Wallstreet breaks up the pin for the DQ at 5:19. JIM DUGGAN saves the day, beating on Bubba and slamming him into Wallstreet. Match of the night at **.

Dusty and Cruise trade candy hearts to close the show; with one of the Cruise ones reading “you’re fired”. One can hope.

6 matches; were they short on time? They can usually squeeze 7 or 8 into this hour long space. See you for Saturday night!

Originally posted by cfgbA package is aired by Chris Cruise, that introduces all the best new wrestlers 1995 brought us. Dean Malenko, The Zodiac Man, Cobra, Craig Pittman, Scott Norton, The Texas Hangmen, American Males, VK Wallstreet, Eddie Guerrero, Disco Inferno, Mr. JL, Chris Benoit, and The Giant are all highlighted. I suppose I can let go that some of those guys had wrestled in WCW in years prior before returning, or even that people like the American Males had never left but were “new” in the sense of being a tag-team. But for the love of god, the freakin’ Zodiac HEADLINED their biggest pay-per-view of 1994! We may as well have included Ric Flair seeing as how he entered 1995 “retired”. Let’s just move on.